Bullying has become a national concern and is often characterized as repetitive teasing along with threatening and demeaning actions. These actions may also include verbal and physical aggression. Bullying usually heightens one's anxiety and leads to feeling unsafe in one's own school.  

Bullying and harassment can be hurtful and considered criminal whether or not the target person complains. Some  students with ASD may even be coerced or reinforced for bullying others. Not surprisingly, there is little research on bullying those individuals on the autism spectrum who are also deaf/hard of hearing and/or blind/visually impaired.

It is worrisome that a recent British study found that 7- to 8-year old neurotypicals who simply wore prescription glasses were 40% more likely to be physically abused than those who did not wear glasses. There are many other ways that a student with a sensory-based disability could be labeled as "different" in a school setting, such as wearing different colored glasses, relying on an electronic device to communicate, and wearing a hearing aid or cochlear implant processor. Incidents challenging the existence or extent of a very sensory-based disability continue to occur. We have heard bullying reports involving the breaking of communication devices, spinning the person around in circles, screaming negative comments, and even shining bright lights in their eyes.

Differently-abled individuals should be prepared to interact with other students who likely have a poor understanding of the situation. A component of any child's safety plan, or an IEP goal, should include realistic and appropriate expectations on how others might behave toward them and how best to respond. It is also important to mention that many special education policies, along with disabilities law, consists of guidelines and consequences for offenders. Staff, parents, and students should be aware of these laws and policies.

Since schools work to ensure students participate in least restrictive and more inclusive school settings, all students need to know ways to report bullying behavior. It is critical for students to have access to the appropriate vocabulary while using their alternative and augmentative communication systems and a "safe" person to tell.

We encourage readers to review prevention tips on bullying. For more information see:

http://www.dol.gov/odep/topics/ndeam/,

http://www.abilitypath.org/areas-of-development/learning--schools/bullying/,  

http://www.pacer.org/bullying/resources/students-with-disabilities/